In
recent years I have used the computer more and more
to communicate concepts to my clients. After leaving
Disney I desired to find a happy marriage between my
conceptual work, theme park, and theater design via
3D computer design. As computers become more powerful
the potential to deliver concepts that are very close
to the finished product is growing. Computers have also
allowed me to work from my Oregon studio while remaining
connected virtually to clients all over the world.
I have most recently started work as an Art Director at IMVU.com. I am currently responsible for not only coming up with concepts, but building, texturing, and promoting them, often all in the same day. So far this project touches ever aspect of my experience as an artist and designer... not to mention is a lot of fun!
< Here is a quick video recap of what I have been up to, brought to you via the magic of YouTube.
Click
to View
The biggest challenge with this work has been expressing a wide variety of styles and environments, while using as few polygons as possible. I have found that this medium is very similar to designing for the theatre... low budget, but high expectations that your design will transport its audience to amazing themed places.
Creating
"Place" As Interface
Most
likely influenced by my theme park design background, I often
strive to turn even computer game interfaces into an opportunity
to create a "place" for activities to take place within.
I
try to blur the lines between
my traditional 2D and 3D
work. Here I am using simple watercolors
as my texture maps. I
hope to establish a more illustrative
look in the 3D environments.
Creating
3D Worlds
The past few years have been an adventure as I work to bridge the gap between concept and final product. Conceiving in 3D has allowed me to marry my design sense with tools that I can use to visualize an idea as close as possible to its eventual implementation.
No matter the theme, 3D concepts create a final product that communicates to multiple disciplines, and since it is 3D allows for a variety of outputs. Seldom taking longer than a more traditional concept illustration, 3D concepts can be used to create 3D renders from multiple camera angles, reference for architecture and fabrication departments, and even animated fly-through's.
3D concept art is especially effective for visualizing vignetted retail, themed, or interactive elements.
I have written two articles for Gamasutra.comon the potential of using Theme Park design principles for the
creation of virtual worlds. These articles were the chief reason
I was hired at There and IMVU . If you would like to read them, you
can find them at:
